Harry Potter- Bad Timing
by WeLonelyOldSouls
Summary: Harry Potter was expected in 1991. In 1994, he finally arrives, age 11. How will this change everything? AU- playing around with ages and years.


Harry Potter was feeling blue. His relatives had not been happy to drop him here at Kings Cross, not at all. He had been delivered a letter from Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in the mail months ago. Last week, he finally raised the issue, demanding he be allowed to go. They hadn't had much of a choice, not after he threatened to prove the neighborhood rumors right. He had found an old trunk in the attic, one only he could open. The letter from the school hadn't explained much, and the trunk raised more questions than answers. He figured that the only way to discover the truth was to go to this school. He didn't know where to get the supplies, but some of the things were in his new trunk. They were used, and a little beaten up, but he liked them.

For one, he was used to secondhand things. After living with Dudley's cast offs for years, it was no problem.

For two, some of the things had his parents' names on them. He was very protective of the delicate 'Lily' written in the textbooks, and the flashy 'James' stamped on the scales. Even if it was superficial, it was still something of his parents. The trunk also had 'Prongs, Padfoot, and Moony' carved on the side. A 'Wormtail' had been scratched out, no reason given.

His meager belongings hadn't filled the trunk, but they had all fit inside. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. If he never returned to the Dursleys, it would be nice. But, he had a sinking feeling he would be coming back. He was missing a lot from his list, but without a way to get the things, he was lost. Hopefully they wouldn't turn him away. He was to learn **magic** , after all. He had packed everything, just to be sure.

Now, the problem was that he couldn't find the train. There wasn't any clue to platform 9 3/4, as his mother called it, no instructions a sot how to reach it had been forthcoming. Perhaps it was the first test? His mother had commented on how childish running through a wall was, but he didn't know if it had changed since then. Plus, he had seen a man leaning on the most likely suspect when he walked in. No way was he running at an obviously solid looking wall. Even worse, there were more than a few walls between platforms 9 and 10. Any one of them could be the one. It took him seeing a family run through one wall, before he caught a glimpse of an owl winging through another, to finally convince him that it was worth a try. Harry braced himself, then rushed at another wall, closing his eyes, certain he would splat all over the stone.

Instead, he found himself in a wonderland. Smoke was blowing over the platform as the engine let out shrill tones.

"Last call for Hogwarts!" a man shouted through the smoke.

Harry panicked and rushed forward, just as the train started to move.

"Help!" he shouted over the blasts of the trains whistle. The platform was running out. Suddenly, two boys jumped out of the smoke. They both had red hair and wore identical grins.

"Lookie here George, we're not the last ones this year. This firstie's even later than us!" he said, grabbing Harry's trunk and jumping back on the train.

"I see Fred, I see." The other called back.

"Let's get you onto the train, yes?" he said to Harry, grabbing Harry's hand and jumping on, dragging the younger boy with him. Harry felt the breeze of the end wall of the platform rush by as he was yanked onto the coupler.

"You okay?" Fred asked, patting Harry down.

"That was rather close, brother mine. Did you want to scare the firstie into shock?" George demanded angrily.

"We got on okay! Stop channeling mum!" Fred retorted. He turned back to Harry. "Honestly, sorry about that close of a jump. Usually, we're further down when it takes off. We got made prefects this year, since the last two were found ditching patrols for a broom closet. Anyway, who are you who got here so late? I'm Forge, and he's Gred."

"That's Fred, and I'm George. You are?" The other twin asked.

"I'm Harry." He said quietly.

"Nice to meet you Harry. Need help finding a compartment?" George asked with a smile.

"Er, yes. That would be wonderful." Harry stammered. The boys laughed and guided him down the train towards the end, where there were usually a few empty carriages. They finally found one, and helped Harry move his things inside.

"Well, that's that. Have a good trip." Fred said, backing out of the compartment.

As they walked off, Harry heard one of them say to the other-

"Feels nice to actually do something good for once. Kinda makes me proud to have this badge, for once.

I know the feeling. Watching Flint work- ugh. Disgraceful."

Harry closed the door to the compartment quietly, and went back to his trunk. He opened the battered top carefully, trying to avoid the hinge popping out again. He pulled a book from the inside and hissed something in, garnishing a low reply.

"I asked, are you okay in there?" Harry hissed again, "It was a rough journey on here. I dared not say anything to those twins."

"I'm fine." The voice called back.

"Well, okay then. I'll leave you be."

"Bye." It hissed back as he closed the lid.

Harry sat back on the seat and opened his book on 'Common Household Charms for the Unlucky Bachelor'. He wasn't sure whose it was, but it was proving useful. There had been two wands in the trunk, one of which he pulled from his sleeves. He pointed it at the hinge on the side of the trunk and, after consulting the book quite a few times, swished it and flicked from one end to the other.

"Reparo." He said calmly. To his surprise, the hinge snapped together, the broken piece rematerializing and binding itself to the brass.

"Congratulations! Was that your first charm?" he looked over, shocked to see a girl a few years older than him beaming at him.

"Er, yes." He said quietly, looking down. Was what he did wrong? Was she going to yell at him?

"That's wonderful! I'm glad you waited until you were on the train to perform it, since we're not allowed to use magic in front of muggles. I'm Hermione Granger, fourth year Ravenclaw prefect. Are you doing okay back here?" She smiled again and slid into the compartment. "I'm the first in my family to have magic, so I know what it's like to be just entering this world. I'm sure you have questions, ask away."


End file.
